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Piece by Piece (English version)
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Directed by Nic Hill Produced by Nic Hill Ed Walker Jr. Tom Quickel Noah Tsutsui Genre Runtime: 78 min Release Date: April 2008 Filmmaker's Website Send to Friends |
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Plot Outline
A groundbreaking documentary of San Francisco’s highly controversial graffiti art movement. A story told by those who live the experience, "Piece by Piece" offers an intimate journey into the most intriguing and misunderstood artistic movement of modern youth culture. By detailing the last 20 years of San Francisco’s graffiti, this tale offers the most candid and accurate story behind the writing on the wall in Northern California.
See the Japanese subtitled version.
See the Spanish subtitled version.
See the German subtitled version.
See the French subtitled version.
Awards
Best Documentary, Bare Bones Film Festival, Muskogee, OK
Reviews "'Piece by Piece' gets this graffiti culture completely right." - Rory L. Aronsky, Film Threat "This feels like the west coast version of StyleWars" - All Nation "The past year or two has seen a small wave of graffiti features, and this one just might be the best" - San Francisco Bay Guardian "You'll never look at graffiti the same again." - SF Examiner
Filmmaker Notes
I. The Birth: 1983 - 1993
The first segment of Piece by Piece lays out the fundamentals of San Francisco graffiti by documenting topics that laid the groundwork for today's Bay Area graffiti. Items covered are "Cholo" writing, the impact of PBS's Style Wars (1983), and the development of San Francisco's defined style. This segment includes not only San Francisco's graffiti originals, but also commentary from noted New York writers such as Seen, Cope 2, and Case 2. It also covers the tragedy of Dream One, an SF graffiti pioneer and a vocal figurehead in Bay Area urban welfare activism.
II. The Evolution: 1993 - 2000
Expanding on the discipline of San Francisco style, the second segment elaborates on what it takes to establish credibility among the graffiti community and how San Francisco became an international magnet for ground breaking graffiti styles yet to be seen in other parts of the world. This segment features classic works from writers such as KR and the horses of Reminisce, following writers and documenting their creative expression. The film features well-known graffiti artists such as: Grey, Buter, Joro, Norm, and Barry McGee (Twist).
III. The Struggle: 2004+
While graffiti is largely considered an underground movement, it's no secret that this art form has invoked a huge response from everyday citizens. The final segment of "Piece by Piece" explores the wide range of public opinion towards graffiti by bringing a voice to the citizens of San Francisco and the law enforcement officers who claim to represent their interests. The film also captures the artists’ heartfelt confessions of their love and addiction to graffiti art and typographic lettering, as well as their social activism, and short life span of their work. In summation, Piece by Piece is an authentic film that documents the last twenty years of San Francisco street art more honestly, accurately, and critically than any media piece has ever done before. Comprehensive and complete, this movie is a fast-paced journey into the world of SF street art, as seen through the eye of the artists–and compiled, piece-by-piece.
Castlist
Dug1
Crayone
Cycle
KR
Grey
Revok
Saber
Joro
Giant
Norm
Twick
Sibl
Jase
Seen
Dream
Tie
Renos
Diet
Ub-40
Deen
Buter
Jorone
Vegan
Kode
Reyes
Abhor
Awe
Bless
Bzaro
Case2
Charo
Chief
Cope
Cuba
Cyme
Cypher
Darks
DJ Rise
Emuse
Senor One - Narrator
and many more...
Music
"War Night" - A.A. Kertz
"Untitled" - TD Camp
"Razorblade Alcohol Slide" | "Invasion of the Octopus People" | "Cosmi Assasins" - DJ Qbert
"Lit Up and Protruding" - Electric Company
"Off the Block" - R Clothing & Music
"You Just Don't Understand" - Produced by Kid 606
"Silly" | "Havana" | "Take Over" - Produced by Archetect
"Cartharsis" - All Bets Off
"Bad Bender" B-Student
"A.C.P.P.F.G" | "Trapture" - Ika Dry (Gus & Dryhump)
"Straight Outta Frisco" - D-Styles
"Electrosynthesis" - Bas1
TMF Section: "Untitled" - Artist unknown
"Cleanrok" - Produced by Rundown
"H.T.s Mist" | "Interrupted Silence" - Josh Hertel
"Are You With Me" | Thats How It Was" - Produced by Ink One For Bhrn Poppie Music
"SF Mafia" - Angelo Shadik
"Random Thought" - Kool DJ Rize
"Evacuate" - Baligerance
"West Side" | Misbehaving" | "SlooShea" - Produced by Chris Fox
"Roko" - Produced by Crayone
"Move To The Left" - Produced by Board Stiff
"Lost" - Crash Faster
"Lil J Says Wus Up" - Produced by Equipto
"San Francisco Knights" | "Slow Bullet" - The People Under the Stairs
"TAste Your Own Medicine" | "Population Birth Control" - Distopia
"Fifteen by Stab1" - Produced by Jason Foote
"DWA" - Topr Holiday (Produced by Dick Nasty & Bootleg)
"White Film" - Tujiko Noriko
Film Editors
Nic Hill
John Murillo
Adam Hazard
Screenings
Hi/Lo Film Festival, San Francisco
Documenta Madrid, Madrid, Span
DCIFF, Washington, D.C.